After Johnny Manziel worked out for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last month, Hamilton's vice president of football operations Kent Austin said the CFL team would not be signing the former Cleveland Browns quarterback.

But Hamilton never removed Manziel from its negotiation list or traded his rights to another team. The team had 10 days to sign Manziel after the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner from Texas A&M activated the signing clock last week. The CFL extended that signing window on Friday.

"The window was extended to facilitate a process of evaluation for the player," the CFL said in a statement first reported by TSN. "We'll have no further comment until and unless that process has been completed. So Ticats need to know Manziel's status with CFL before they can decide what to do."

Manziel was a first-round pick of the Browns in the 2014 NFL Draft, but washed out of the league after just two seasons amid sub-par play and myriad of off-field issues. He was suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season for a violation of the NFL's substance abuse policy. Manziel was released by the Browns in March of 2016 and would have to serve that four-game suspension should he ever return to the NFL.

Manziel threw for 1,675 yards with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 57 percent of his passes in 15 NFL games, with eight starts.

The Tiger-Cats are 2-8 under first-year CFL coach June Jones, who previously coached the Atlanta Falcons and at SMU and Hawaii. Hamilton faced a 20-10 halftime deficit to Saskatchewan, which scored an early touchdown in the third quarter to extend its lead in Friday's game.

Manziel is hopeful a positive showing in the CFL could help him work back to the NFL, but he is subject to a domestic violence assessment by the CFL because of a 2016 domestic violence allegation made by his ex-girlfriend. That charge was dismissed in 2016.

If the Tiger-Cats were to offer Manziel a contract and he declines, he would remain on the team's negotiation list for a year. The Tiger-Cats could rescind their rights, making Manziel free to sign with any other CFL team.